Bust support or brassiere



Dec. 11, 1951 c, cuozz BUST SUPPORT OR BRASSIERE 2 $HEETSSHEET 2 Filed Aug. 25, 1948 JNVENTOR CONN/E Cuozzl fiw C. l

Patented Dec. 11, 1951 BUST SUPPORT R BRASSIERE Connie Cuozzi, New York, N. Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Irving N. Epstein Application August 25, 1948, Serial No. 46,150 2 Claims (01. 2-42) This invention relates to improvements in a bust support or brassire.

Various brassiere constructions have heretofore been proposed. Such constructions generally have been disadvantageous in that when the wearer bends backwardly and then to a normally upright position, or raises the arms and then lowers them to normal position, the front portion of the brassire tends to ride upwardly. The bottom edge of the brassire becomes located above its normal position causing the brassire to become distorted and to adversely affect the fit of the dress, as well as being uncomfortable to the wearer. The brassiere then must be pulled down to bring it back to its normal position. Other movements of the wearer, such as twisting the body or bending it forwardly, cause the brassire to loosen, so that the breasts shift about from their normal position in the pockets of the brassire and become crowded together thereby causing discomfort.

The present invention aims to overcome the foregoing difficulties and disadvantages by providing a brassiere having a self-centering arrangement for each breast of the wearer which aids in maintaining the brassiere in the normal position even during backward movements of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved brassire which will support the breasts by a yielding upward pressure in a manner such as not only to prevent the breast muscles from being stretched but to promote the development and hardening of such muscles.

In accordance with the invention th s is accomplished by formin the central section between the brassiere pockets for each side of the brassire of a fabric having one way stretch and which is suitablv cut and seamed so that the threads of the fabric are angularly disposed on a bias with respect to the vertical and horizontal strains imposed upon it. It is known that, a fabric section arranged so that its threads are angular with res ect to strains im osed upon it will conform readily to the surface against which it is placed. The brassiere pockets also may be formed of a fabric having one way stretch and which is cut and seamed so that the material will stretch in the vertical direction and will. resist stretching in the horizontal or lateral direction; The side and back sections of the brassire may be formed of the fabric having one way stretch but which is cut and seamed so as to permit horizontal or lateral stretch.

A further feature of the invention resides in the forming of the lower front sections of the brassiere under the pockets thereof with a fabric having stretch only in the vertical direction. As a result the brassiere will withstand strains from backward bendingwithout upward movements.

The construction in accordance with the invention is advantageous in that it may be readily and economically fabricated to produce an attractive and durable brassire.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following descrip: tion and from the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example, an embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view of a person wearing a brassiere in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 and showing the back of the brassiere;

Figure 3 is a front view of the brassiere with the straps shown fragmentarily;

Figure 4 is a rear view of the brassiere shown in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is an exploded view of the brassiere showing the shapes of the various sections of fabric used in its construction.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a brassiere in having a pair of bust or breast receiving supports or portions. The brassire is preferably made of any suitable woven fabric of a kind commonly used in the making of womens foundation garments, and is formed of two practically identical portions secured together at the front of the brassire by a seam or faggoting stitch II. For the sake of simplicity in the description, one side of the brassiere will be described and the parts given identifying numerals, corresponding parts of the other portion of the brassiere being maked with the same numeral with the addition of 100. Each of the supports includes a breast pocket 12 which is adapted to shape the bust of the wearer to a desired form. A front panel I4 is positioned under the breast pocket [2 and is adapted to' The breast pocket I2 is closed by a breast pocket top panel I6 having a breast pocket top edge strip l1 extending from the side panel l5 to' the middle of the breast pocket top panel H5, at.

which point the brassiere is supported by a strap 19.

A center section extends upwardly along the midside section of the front panel and breast pocket to meet the top edge breast pocket strip l1 and the supporting strap l9.

The breast pocket I2 is preferably formed of material having one way stretch and as may be seen in detail in Figure 5, is formed of a generally rectangular shaped piece of material having its longer length extending in the lateral direction and cut so that its stretch extends vertically. Its top surface 2! is approximately straight and cut approximately perpendicular to the stretch of the material. The bottom surface 22 is cut with a slightly downwardly extending convex curved surface. The midside edge 24 is generally curved downwardly and inwardly to form the breast pocket with the bottom edge 22 of shorter length than the top edge 2|. The remaining edge of the breast pocket section is cut at two angles to provide a lower edge 25 adapted to meet a front edge 26 of the side panel l5 and with an upper edge 21 to engage with the lower surface of the breast pocket top edge 51. The front panel M is generally rectangular in shape having its length in the vertical direction and is cut so that its stretch is also in the vertical rather than in the lateral direction. Upper edge 29 of the front panel I4 is formed with a radius having a somewhat shorter length than the radius of the lower edge 22 of the breast pocket panel [2. Side edges 3!! and 3| of the front panel M are out at angles with respect to the bottom edge 32. so that the bottom edge is shorter in length than the top edge 29.

The side and back panel 15 extends around under the arms of the wearer and is generally of a rectangular shape and is cut so as to have stretch in the lateral rather than in the vertical direction Upper edge 34 of the panel 15 is cut with a slight curvature so as to form a front side edge 26 of a somewhat greater length than a rear side edge 35. Bottom edge 35 is of approximately the same length as the top edge 34 and is out approximately in a straight line.

A back strap 3'! is adapted to be attached towards the rear of the side and back panel i5, the panel" 15 having a cutaway corner 39 to reduce the width of its back portion. Both of the side and back panels [-5 and I I5 are formed with their backside edges reinforced with vertically extending strips and 4!. strip 40 being preferably fitted with hooks d2 positioned and spaced to engage with eyelets 4t correspondingly positioned and secured to the strip 4|.

The breast pocket top edge strip I1 is formed with a greater length than width and is cut with its stretch in its lengthwise direction. Top and bottom edges 45 and 46, respectively, of the strip l I are approximately parallel and'fro'nt edge "61 is cut approximately perpendicular to the edges 45 and 46. Back edge 49 o'f'thestrip I"! is cut diagonally downwardly to form an edge adapted to'engage with the midside edge 26 of the side and back panel 5.

The center section 29 is preferably formed of material having one-way stretch and is formed with its lower end 56 cut on a bias. Sides 5| and 52 are approximately parallel and have a Squared lower end 54. The center section 26'is out along a "curved line as indicated at 55 to form a generally'straight upper portion 56 corresponding to the breast pocket top edge strip l1 and forming a breast pocket top edge strip having stretch along its length.

The bottom and top edges 51 and 59, respectively, of the breast pocket top edge portion 56 are cut approximately parallel While its upper end 60 is cut at a slight angle therewith so as to make the edge 5': slightly shorter than the edge 59. The front strap I9 is attached to the brassiere at the junction of the breast pocket top edge sections I1 and 56.

The breast pocket top section I6 is generally diamond shaped and is preferably formed of a double thickness of a light material such as lace. Each of upper edges 6| and 62 are approximately straight in shape and being disposed at an angle, meet to form an upper corner 64, which is positioned approximately in vertical alignment with the junction for the attachment of the strap l9. Lower edges 65 and 65 of the section I6 are likewise out approximately straight and are curved at their meeting end to form a curved lower portion 61.

The various pieces of material may be assembled and seamed together in any usual manner, it being found preferable to secure the breast pocket !2 to the front panel [4 by a'flat stitch as indicated at 69. Although the lower edge 22 of the breast pocket i2 and the upper edge 29 of the front panel 14 have slightly different curvatures, they are seamed together to provide a flat seam tending to permit the breast pocket 2 to protrude outwardly in a form fitting position.

The side panel 15 is seamed to the edge 30 of the front panel and to the edge 25 of the breast pocket likewise by the use of a flat stitch as indicated at Hi. The lower edge 45 of the top breast pocket edge strip I! is attached to the edge 2'! of the breast pocket and to the edge 61 of the breast pocket top [6 by a faggoting stitch H, which is also used to attach end 4: of the breast pocket edge strip I? to the edge. 66 0f the center section 26, as indicated at E2.

The lower edges 65 and S6 of the lace breast top section It are attached to the top edge 2| of the breast pocket 12 by a flat stitch as indicated at M, the various parts being brought together so that the curved lower portion 61 of the breast pocket top l6 provides an outward- 1y extending cup adapted to receive the bust of the wearer in form fitting relationship.

The center section 26 has its edges 57, 5|, '52, and 59 attached to the adjacent portions by faggoting stitches E5 and ii, respectively.

In order to add to the attractiveness of the brassiere the seamed edges are sewed with a finishing stitch which further acts to prevent unravelling of the edges of the material.

In order to cause the edges of the brassiere to fit closely against the body of the wearer the entire top edge is fitted with an elastic strip 15 which is attached to the inner side of the brassiere,.a like strip T! being attached to the bottom edge. Adjustment means for the straps l9 and 3'! are provided by any suitable fittings 19. The top edge of the brassiere may be further provided with a decorative rufiling strip 8!]. Elastic strips 8| may be attached to the lower end of the .brassiere and form a suitable attaching means for engagement with the top edge of a girdle (not shown).

By reason of the construction in accordance with the invention, an upward pull on the front straps 19, such as results from the raising of the arms of the wearer of the brassire, produces stresses on the breast pocket top edge strip l1 and on the upper portion 56 of the center section 29 along their respective lengths and at an angle of approximately 135 with the straps l9, or at an angle of 45 with respect to a vertical center line through the breast pockets 12. An effect is thus produced by the stresses wherein the various parts of the brassire tend to centralize and cup the breasts which thereby resist an upward movement of the bottom of the brassire.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to a specific embodiment thereof, it will be understood that other embodiments may be resorted to without departing from the invention and variations may be made in the construction. For example, while the center section 20 has been described and illustrated as being formed of a lower portion 50 and an upper portion 56 to form a breast pocket edge strip, it is obvious that these portions might well be made in two parts and seamed together. Therefore, the form of the invention set out above should be considered as illustrative and not as limiting the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A brassire comprising a pair of breast supports and a center section interconnecting said supports, each of said supports including a supporting strap, a side and back panel, a breast pocket secured to the side and back panel, and a front panel secured to the bottom of the breast pocket, said center section comprising two interconnected strips each formed of material cut on a bias and out along a curved line extending diagonally and divergently upwards to a point above the vertical center line of its associated breast pocket, each of said strips being secured to adjacent sides of its associated breast pocket and front panel and also to its associated supporting strap, a breast pocket top edge strip extending diagonally upwards from the other side of the breast pocket to the supporting strap to form a junction therewith and with the center section, and a breast pocket top panel extending from the top of the breastpocket to said junction.

2. A brassiere in accordance with claim 1 in which said straps are formed of material having a one-way stretch.

CONNIE CUOZZI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,979,120 Robbins Oct. 30, 1934 2,113,065 Wipperman Apr. 5, 1938 2,211,549 Semons Aug. 13, 1940 2,443,225 Cadous June 15, 1948 2,467,924 Amyot Apr. 19, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 415,023 Great Britain Aug. 13, 1934 

